Jump at the Sun is the story of a woman trying to define her life as a mother. Motherhood and the sacrifices that result is a theme throughout the novel. Grace's mother Mattie was abandoned twice by Gracie's grandmother Rae. This abandonment causes Grace's mother to try to "buy" her mother's love at one point,at the cost of her, Gracie and her other children's well-being. Mattie tries her hardest to be the best daughter, but comes to the conclusion that in the end "{Rae} was a terrible mother." For Gracie, her two daughters make up the sole of most of her existance, but she feel trapped and is suffocating under the constant stress. She plots throughout the story to find her grandmother and then possibly leave her family, before she "dies" mentally from the pressure. Unlike her mother and other family members, Gracie can relate to her grandmother Rae and how she must have felt when she left Gracie's mother. "She had no other choice," saids Gracie. Gracie is a socologist. She tries several times to validate on a social-science level her feelings toward motherhood. At times, she loves being a mother, at other times she wants to leave and never come back. The novel make me think about my own feelings toward motherhood. I wonder how different my life would have been had I not had my daughter at 19. Who's to say? Through the help of my own mother, I was able to finish college so I did not become a statistic like so many girls that leave college because of pregnancy, never to return. Are the sacrifices we make as mothers suppose to "pay off" at some point? Both Grace and her mother Mattie felt this way, but Rae did not. The only thing Rae understood was that she lived her life and did what she had to, to survive. No more, no less. Isnt that really what any of us can hope for? As mothers do we desire some type of pay off? or watching our children grow into their own reward enough? It is an interesting and complicated enigma. I highly recommend this book. In fact when I get my shelving together for my personal library I will be purchasing it. Thanks Portia!!!
